Friday June 4th Maggie, Pete and I flew from Shenzhen to Xi’an airport around 4pm and arrived 2.5 hrs later in Xi’an. We had to take the airport shuttle bus into the city center where our hostel was only a 10 minute walk from the bus stop. We found the hostel and loved it as it was recommended by a few CTLC teachers as a great hostel. We got a 4 bed dorm room and had a roommate that arrived at 11pm. The hostel was noisy the 1st night but we still enjoyed it as there was a bar and restaurant in the hostel along with great Chinese traditional design. Plus we only paid 20 kuai per person a night. Yes we paid 160 kuai=$23.52 for 2 people for 4 nights to stay at Xiangzimen Youth ... read more

This week has been packed full of accomplishing things to do before we leave and the dreaded emotional roller coaster. When we first arrived in China EVERYTHING was a big experience now it seems it is just a way of life. We have come so far in 9 1/2 months of living in the People's Republic of China(PRC). Our training in Beijing had suggested in order to deal with culture shock we should write things down, the good and bad. After looking back at our 113 blog entries of the year we definitely have done that. Monday We started our new class schedule as our students are now in classes 1-20 instead of A1-10 and Jia 1-10. Classes 1-10 are Science focused students, Pete teaches them and 11-20 are Art focused students, I have them. Our ... read more

Friday, after teaching Pete and I went to get our teeth cleaned at the dentist since it only costs 150 RMB=$21.96 per person. Which we won't be able to find in the states and we badly needed it since we had our teeth cleaned by Brooke, my sister, in July. I don't think I have ever gone that long without getting my teeth cleaned. I also decided to get my teeth bleached as it was much cheaper again than the states. I have to go back one more time in a few weeks for the second treatment. After the dentist experience I was off to Hong Kong with Cali, Kelly and Staci for a Ladies Night in HK thanks to Pete as a birthday present to me for paying for the hostel at Yesinn. It took ... read more

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake that struck the Sichuan province on May 12, 2008. It measured at 7.9 and killed over 69,000 people. Today marks the 4 week anniversary of the Southern Qinghai earthquake that hit on April 13, 2010. It measured at 6.9, killed over 2,000 people and left over 120,000 homeless. This is one of the "Most Remote Areas of China" Today marks the 5th school attach in China in the past 2 months. This attack was located in the Shaanxi province and happened at a kindergarten. 5 boys, 2 girls and a female school teacher were hacked to death with a kitchen cleaver by the 48 year old man who later went home and committed suicide. Eleven other children and a teacher were hospitalized. Last week we had ... read more

On Tuesday morning, we decided to get an early start and head to Hua-lien so we could spend the day seeing the city instead of wasting a day traveling. We took the subway to Taipei Main Station and found our way to the HSR(High Speed Rail) and TRA(Taiwan Railway Admin) area. We knew we wanted to go south and east but we didn't know the name of the line. We were helped by another friendly Taiwanese that spoke no English but we knew enough Mandarin in order to communicate what we wanted. The train left in 25 minutes and was a little more than we were told by the Information Center but it was coming from the Automated Machine and that was the price 441NTD/person=$14 for a 2hr and 10 minute train ride. The train was ... read more